St Enghenedl's Church, Llanynghenedl, is a former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, north Wales, dedicated to the son of a 6th-century King of Powys. According to the 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd, the first church in Llanynghenedl was erected in about 620. A new church was erected in 1862, replacing a building that the 19th-century clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones noted as dating in part from the late 13th or early 14th century, based on the decorations on the south doorway. The church later fell into disuse as a result of the growth of the nearby village of

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and the church there. In 1988, St Enghenedl's was dismantled and re-erected as an extension to St Mihangel's, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn, so that St Mihangel's could serve as the church for RAF Valley. The former churchyard of St Enghenedl's is still visible but is now overgrown.(The churchyard is being cared for and no longer overgrown 2020 update)

History and location

The site of the former St Enghenedl's Church is in the village of Llanynghenedl, in

, north Wales, in the north-west of the island about east of the port town of

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

. Little is known about Enghenedl, the saint to whom the church was dedicated. He was one of the sons of

Cynan Garwyn Cynan Garwyn was king of Powys in the north-east and east of Wales, who flourished in the second half of the 6th century. Little reliable information exists which can be used to reconstruct the background and career of the historical figure. Availa ...

, King of Powys in the late 6th century, and a brother of his successor, Selyf ap Cynan or Selyf Sarffgadau. This is the only church recorded as being dedicated to Enghenedl, whose feast day was celebrated on

Quinquagesima Quinquagesima (), in the Western Christian Churches, is the last pre-Lenten Sunday, being the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and the first day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide). It is also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Esto ...

(the Sunday before

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

). The village takes its name from the church; the Welsh word originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "‑ynghenedl" is a variant of the saint's name. According to the 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd, it is said that the first church was built here in about 620. By the time she was writing, the church was attached to the parish of St Machraeth's Church, Llanfachraeth. St Enghenedl's was rebuilt in 1862 by Henry Kennedy, the architect of the

Diocese of Bangor The Diocese of Bangor is a Diocese#Church of England and Anglican Communion, diocese of the Church in Wales in North West Wales. The diocese covers Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and the western part of Montgomeryshire. His ...

. Another church was subsequently built in the parish, in the village of

. As Valley grew, St Enghenedl's declined in use and it eventually closed. It was dismantled in 1988 and rebuilt as an extension to St Mihangel's Church, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn, so that it could serve as the church for RAF Valley. St Enghenedl's was re-erected with its west end adjoining the west end of St Mihangel's, which had also been built by Kennedy in 1862. The old east window of St Enghenedl's now faces west, and the bellcote is in the middle of the roof. The churchyard, gravestones, and

lychgate A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...

of St Enghenedl's remain in their original location, but the churchyard is now overgrown.

Architecture and fittings

Writing in 1862 (but before Kennedy's rebuilding), the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones recorded that the church was internally, divided by some woodwork into a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. Judging by the decoration he considered that the south doorway dated from the late 13th or early 14th century. He also noted that the 12th-century font had an ornamental design similar to other fonts elsewhere in Anglesey. The east window had two lights (sections of window separated by stone

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s), and was similar to that of St Ylched's Church, Llechylched (another Anglesey church that no longer exists). A 1937 survey of Kennedy's rebuilt church by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire said that it was formed from a continuous nave and chancel, measuring in total 43 by 15 feet (13.3 by 4.7 m). The church, which was at that time in good condition, was entered through a porch on the south side, and there was a vestry on the north side. As well as the font, the church contained some 18th-century memorials. The font is now in the south chapel of St Cybi's Church, Holyhead. A survey of church plate within the Bangor diocese in 1906 recorded a silver

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

, inches (just over 19 cm) tall, with the

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

date mark for 1724–25. It was inscribed with the names of the vicar (Thomas Vincent) and the two churchwardens (Griffith Edward and Owen Hughes), and the year 1724. It was described as resembling "an inverted bell, standing on a stem". There was also an accompanying plain

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...

cover, inches (just over 9 cm) in diameter. Both bore the maker's mark of William Richardson, the letters "Ri" in a square shield below a crescent. The paten also had the mark of a leopard's head, indicating that it had been assayed in London.

Assessment

Angharad Llwyd described the church in 1833 as "a lofty but small edifice", adding that several parts "display marks of very great antiquity." Harry Longueville Jones said that its size made it "one of the least considerable" of the churches in Anglesey. The Welsh politician and church historian Sir Stephen Glynne visited the church in July 1873. He said that it was a small church with "some small rude (rood)windows".

References

External links

Photographs of the church before and after demolition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llanynghenedl, St Enghenedl Llanynghenedl Destroyed churches in Wales 19th-century Church in Wales church buildings Llanynghenedl Valley, Anglesey